Bad Neighbours 2: Sorority Rising

This review may contain spoilers!

While this sequel has a brilliant script I did have to wonder if the cast was really putting their all into it. I would give Bad Neighbours 2: Sorority Rising a 6.5/10.

This film had all the brilliant gags and funny lines that made the first Bad Neighbours such an entertaining film, the first film is celebrated and referenced extremely well. I also thought that the focus on feminism and equal rights for women was well represented in this film, there's a great message at the heart of this film about women deserving the exact same things as men. The soundtrack for Bad Neighbours 2 is a brilliant blend of tracks, I think every track for this film was used for it's full comedic potential.

Zac Efron, who played Teddy Sanders, looks like he's having incredible fun in this film; I thought it was interesting that we got to see a more vulnerable side to Efron's performance in this film. Selena Gomez, who played Madison, had a great appearance in this film; her character was a fun parody of the stereotypical sorority girl. Seth Rogen, who played Mac Radner, really plays these wild slapstick roles quite well; I think at the heart of it Rogen can create a very relateable and likeable role. Dave Franco, who played Pete, brings yet another great homosexual character to screen in this film; Franco is a very genuine performer and he really has a ton of chemistry with Efron in this film. Lisa Kudrow, who played Dean Carol Gladstone, is yet another minor appearance from the great original cast; Kudrow's sarcastic and politically invested role is a really enjoyable scene. Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who played Scoonie, reappears for a great cameo; I really enjoyed the idea that Mintz-Plasse's role had become very successful. Kelsey Grammer, who played Shelby's Dad, was such a funny surprise cameo in this film; I loved the jokes made around parents having to deal with their kids leaving home. Hannibal Buress and Jerrod Carmichael, who played Officer Watkins and Garf respectively, had several moments where they presented some great satire about African-American police killings; I thought the way they presented this humour was very blunt and very well delivered. Brian Huskey, who played Bill Wazakowski, was a great minor role from the first film; I enjoyed Huskey's appearance and how he really played up the comedy in the scene he was in.

However the best performance came from Rose Byrne, who played Kelly Radner. Byrne was my favourite part of the first film and she continues to stand out in this one. She knows how to land her moments of comedy and really banters well against Rogen and Efron. Also she's able to play the moments where her character exhibits her own personal fears and anxieties really well. Ultimately for most of this movie she's reacting extremely well to the stuff going on around her and I think it's her ability to give quite a natural reaction to the unfolding events that makes her so much fun to watch.

While this film was funny and had an interesting element to the plot there wasn't much effort to really pull out the stops and do something big, frankly this film was rather tame for a majority of the film. It didn't help that Shelby and her sorority had a third of the screen time yet weren't able to deliver a compelling part of the plot. The cinematography was rather basic, the shots didn't have much creativity to them. i also felt that the editing was slow, another problem all too common for comedy films.

Chloe Grace Moretz, who played Shelby, lacked charisma and the big presence to really stand out in this film; Moretz certainly is far from capable when it comes to being a comedic performer. Kiersey Clemons, who played Beth, gave a really weak performance alongside Moretz; she never really provided anything to the story. Ike Barinholtz, who played Jimmy, is such a creepy actor/character; Barinholtz is one of the characters i wish hadn't returned from the first film. Carla Gallo, who played Paula, had nothing but disgusting humour in this film; Gallo and Barinholtz have no chemistry whatsoever. Beanie Feldstein, who played Nora, was probably the weakest performer of the sorority main cast; her humour was strange and it was fitting that she had to share a scene with Barinholtz. Liz Cackowski, who played Wendy the Realtor, was this stern two dimensional performance that created some boring scenes; ultimately Cackowski should have had a lot less screen time.